Meskal, Finding of the True Cross – 14 Days
Overview
Date: 26 or 27 September
Location: Addis Ababa/Axum/Gonder/Gurage
Meskel, or cross, is a special festival to commemorate the finding of the true cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. According to the legend, the Byzantine Empress Elleni was led to the place where the cross was hidden by smoke from a fire which she had been instructed to make in a dream. It also has pre-Christian origins, to mark the end of the rainy season. In most places, as in Addis Ababa, the festival is celebrated on the eve.
In Addis Ababa, young men and women, dressed in white with red sashes, form processions and make their way, singing and dancing, to Meskal Square in the centre of town. They are joined by hundreds of priests and deacons from churches around the city, who bring drums and the ornate crosses used in religious ceremonies.
As it gets dark, the demera, or bonfire made up of dried sticks and bedecked with yellow flowers, is lit, commemorating the action taken by Empress Helleni. The direction in which the bonfire falls is said to indicate what will happen to the country in the year to come. Celebrations and street parties continue throughout the town into the night, with each neighbourhood having its own demera.
It is a time of the year when people try to return to their villages, to celebrate the festival with families and friends.
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive at Addis. Overnight – hotel
Day 2: City Tour of Addis Ababa & (Meskal Festival). Overnight – hotel
Day 3: Drive to Dessie. Overnight – hotel
Day 4: Drive to Lalibela. Overnight – hotel
Day 5: Lalibela Churches. Overnight – hotel
Day 6: Drive to Mekelle via Yimrahine Kristos cave Church. Overnight – hotel
Day 7: Drive to Axum. Overnight – hotel
Day 8: Axum Sites. Overnight – hotel
Day 9: Drive to Simien Mountains National Park. Overnight – tented camp
Day 10: Drive to Gondar. Overnight – hotel
Day 11: Drive to Bahir Dar. Overnight – hotel
Day 12: Blue Nile and monasteries on Lake Tana. Overnight – hotel
Day 13: Drive to Addis Ababa. Overnight – hotel
Day 14: departure
We can integrate the festival with visits to other places on the Historic Route, to the rock hewn churches of Gheralta, Danakil Depression, and/or other parts of the country, the Omo valley, bird watching, trekking and other activities
